DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 17-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(b) as being anticipated by Shokouhi (2018/0142438).
Regarding claim 17, Shokouhi teaches a latch assembly for a manhole cover (102), a latch assembly (130), the latch assembly comprising: a housing (128) having sidewalls and a bottom wall (140) cooperatively defining a housing cavity, a first channel recessed into the bottom wall and extending through the sidewalls such that a first opening and a second opening are defined through the sidewalls (channel recessed into bottom wall 140 for seating of latch 114 and having first and second openings through side walls 134, and between lateral walls 136, 138 wherein latch 114 is movable therethrough outer radial opening 152, Fig 1-6); and a latch bar (114) slidable within the first channel between a locked position and an unlocked position (a locked position as seen in Fig 3 and unlocked position as seen in Fig 6), the latch bar slidable through both the first opening and the second opening (latch 114 slides between locked and unlocked position within openings, Fig 1-6; para [0035]).
Regarding claim 18, Shokouhi teaches a second channel recessed into the bottom wall and recessed into the first channel (vents 156 recessed into bottom wall and first channel, Fig 3), wherein the latch bar (130) is positioned over the second channel when the latch bar is in the locked position and when the latch bar is in the unlocked position (latch bar 158 of latch 114 positioned over second channels 156 when in the locked and unlocked positions, Fig 1-6).
Regarding claim 19, Shokouhi teaches a stop (212) coupled to the latch bar (130) and configured to prevent separation of the latch bar and the housing (Figure 3).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1, 4-6, 10-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shokouhi (2018/0142438) in view of Ulefos (NO321767).
Regarding claim 1, Shokouhi teaches a manhole cover assembly, comprising: a manhole frame (118) having a seat (127); a manhole cover (102) supportable by the seat of the manhole frame; and a latch assembly (104), including: a latch housing (128) fixedly coupled to the manhole cover, the latch housing having a channel (recessed in 140) extending through the latch housing; a latch bar (114) slidably coupled to the channel, the latch bar slidable relative to the latch housing between a locked position and an unlocked position (paragraph [0038]). Shokouhi fails to teach a padlock. Ulefos teaches a vault cover (1) having a latch housing (3) and a latch bar (4) slidably coupled to a housing channel and a padlock (5) operatively coupled to the latch bar and configured to maintain the latch bar in the locked position. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include a padlock on the manhole cover latch of Shokouhi as taught by Ulefos to prevent the latch from being unlocked undesirably and allowing the manhole cover to be removed by an unauthorized user.
Regarding claim 4, Shokouhi as modified by Ulefos teaches the padlock (5) is positioned entirely within the latch housing (3) such that a keyhole of the padlock faces toward the manhole cover when the latch bar is in both the locked position and the unlocked position. The padlock is capable of being rotated upward so that the keyhole would face toward the manhole cover in both the locked and unlock position.
Regarding claim 5, Shokouhi as modified by Ulefos teaches the channel (extending into 140) is recessed within a bottom surface of the latch housing (128) and extends radially relative to the manhole cover.
Regarding claim 6, Shokouhi as modified by Ulefos teaches the latch bar further comprises a stop (212) coupled to the latch bar (130) and configured to prevent separation of the latch bar and the latch housing.
Regarding claim 10, Shokouhi as modified by Ulefos teaches the latch assembly is positioned proximate to a circumference of the manhole cover (Figure 1).
Regarding claim 11, Shokouhi as modified by Ulefos teaches the latch bar (130) is extendable radially beyond the circumference of the manhole cover when the latch bar is in the locked position (Figure 1, 3).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 12-16 are allowed.
Claims 2-3, 7-9 and 20 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The closest prior art (Shokouhi) teaches a manhole cover assembly having a latch assembly with a housing and a sliding latch bar but fails to teach the housing has a shackle recess. The Ulefos reference teaches a padlock attached to a latch bar and configured to maintain the latch bar in a locked position. However, even modifying the latch assembly of Shokouhi with the padlock of Ulefos would not result in the latch housing having a shackle recess. These limitations in combination with the remaining limitations in independent claim 12 read over the prior art.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure is listed on the attached PTO-892. Burke teaches a manhole cover having a sliding latch.
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/ABIGAIL A RISIC/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3671 January 23, 2026